Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie (2011)

73% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(607 ratings)

Beginning with Woodstock '99, director Michelle Esrick has spent ten years documenting the life of Wavy Gravy. Saint Misbehavin' journeys from the hills of California to the Himalayan Mountains to reveal the life of this one of a kind servant to humanity. The film blends Wavy's own words with… More Beginning with Woodstock '99, director Michelle Esrick has spent ten years documenting the life of Wavy Gravy. Saint Misbehavin' journeys from the hills of California to the Himalayan Mountains to reveal the life of this one of a kind servant to humanity. The film blends Wavy's own words with magical stories from an extraordinary array of fellow travelers both cultural and counter-cultural, revealing the man behind the clown's grin and the fool's clothing. In Saint Misbehavin' Wavy is revealed more than the tie-dyed entertainer and ice-cream flavor namesake that often defines him in the popular imagination. Audiences will come to know the activist, the optimist, and the healer who reaches beyond political, economic, and cultural divisions in his commitment to social change and the alleviation of human suffering. Wavy's life is his message, serving as deeply needed inspiration that we can change the world and have fun doing it. Satirist Paul Krasner describes Wavy as "The illegitimate son of Harpo Marx and Mother Theresa, conceived one starry night on a spiritual whoopie cushion," to which Wavy has replied, "Some people tell me I'm a saint, I tell them I'm Saint Misbehavin'." -- (C) Official Site

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Michelle Esrick
Genres: Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest

In Theaters: Dec 8, 2010 Limited
Studio: Ripple Effect Films

Critic Reviews

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Esrick has crafted an affectionate portrait of a man whose eclectic, ebullient life has been devoted to peace, love and understanding - an eternal hippie who has "walked the walk" since he burst onto the Greenwich Village "Beat" scene in the late 1950s.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
As freewheeling and irreverent as the man himself, Saint Misbehavin' is that rare documentary whose flaws seem appropriate for its subject matter.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Like its subject, Saint Misbehavin' is an unabashed love letter to the world that defies the cynicism of our age.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Are we to believe that this wild-haired, in-your-face LSD disciple is Mr. Perfect? I doubt it.
Gregg Rickman, Village Voice
Perhaps the fly-on-the-wall approach of Esrick's mentor (and this film's executive producer) D.A. Pennebaker would have been more revealing. Instead, we get just a mystery man in white.
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
Esrick spent 10 years on the film, and the result is a comprehensive portrait.
Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine
Perfunctory, bowdlerized, and intermittently condescending, Saint Misbehavin' has all the biographical trenchancy of a fundraiser infomercial.
Cynthia Fuchs, PopMatters
Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie is a celebration and something of a scrapbook too, a collection of memories without much in the way of questions.
Marshall Fine, Hollywood & Fine
Its subject is so personable, with both an infectious personality and a razor-sharp mind, that it's hard not to get caught up in his story.
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
[M]ore than a footnote to the 1960's counterculture, he's serious fun in this [genial] bio-documentary on the role of the clown/fool in society.
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com
Doesn't probe too deeply into the man, but the message of altruism is loud and clear, befitting a rascal who's spent his colorful days trying to make the world a better place.
Eric Monder, Film Journal International
A much better movie than its off-putting title would suggest, Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie will introduce many to a singularly altruistic individual.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Despite the claim that Wavy Gravy is some kind of holy clown, he said nothing or did nothing in this movie that is funny at all. An acquired taste, I suppose.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A remarkable and rowdy documentary about a contemporary holy fool and saint who walks his talk about love, compassion, peace, and transformation.
Ray Greene, Boxoffice Magazine
It's impossible to watch this movie without feeling that you're in the presence of a good and decent man.

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Jason R

Wavy Gravy has served breakfast in bed to 500,000 people, he has traveled through the Middle-East and beyond to bring joy and food to the down-trodden, hopeless, homeless, and even those affected by natural disasters. He has mentored the youth of America as the co-founder of Camp… More
Wavy Gravy has served breakfast in bed to 500,000 people, he has traveled through the Middle-East and beyond to bring joy and food to the down-trodden, hopeless, homeless, and even those affected by natural disasters. He has mentored the youth of America as the co-founder of Camp Winnarainbow. A poet. A clown. A Hog Farmer. A Merry Prankster. A living Saint. This movie highlights and sheds light on the wonderful and unbelievable life, of one of the zaniest and greatest people, to ever walk the planet. This is an incredibly in-depth documentary chronicling the life of Hugh Romney, who went from a beloved New York poet, to a nomadic Jester. Traveling the world with his much-loved Wife, as they set out to make a difference in the world. SAINT MISBEHAVIN' will not only put a smile on your face, but it may inspire you to release the inner-Wavy that hides deep inside all of us.